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It's easy at times for jokers to take humorous shots at police officers meant in jest. The jokes and stereotypes are mostly the same; they wear little mustaches, eat doughnuts and either look like Barney Fife or Buford J. Justice.

Imagine you are lord of the manor in feudal times, and you have provided a large pasture (the commons) for your serfs to run their cattle. Of course, each serf family wants to increase its herd to better themselves, and before long, there are too many cows and the common is overgrazed, turning the field into an eroded area unfit for anything.

The arrest last Monday in Augusta of 25-year-old Reality Leigh Winner for allegedly passing top-secret government documents to an online news site says as much about the government's ineptitude in handing out security clearances as it does her stupidity in thinking she could get away with it.

There are great benefits to living in a county with a robust economy and quality of life that lures more people to move here, but also a price to pay at times. That push and pull of progress in our area now is playing out on Dawsonville Highway and plans for an 860-home active-adult community.

In his recent letter, Jeff Casper appears to forget slavery was legal and condoned under the government of the United States for almost 100 years. In spite of this, no one has demanded removal of the flag of the United States or statues of founders who also happened to be slave owners.

As an observer of how people act, react and think, it is usually something radical that gets to me. I think of an old saying from my parents: "Fools' names, like fools' faces, are always seen in public places." The saying never really became clear until I read the recent reports of foolish people doing foolish things in public places.

I am so disgusted with Veterans Affairs. It does not assist veterans who wasted their lives for no reason. America seems to be at war all the time with no purpose. If two foreign countries are fighting each other, that's their problem, but we make it ours. That's why our country is not what it once was. We are playing referee to those countries, so why must we interrupt their little wars? We are playing hero at great expense.

Last month, the American Health Care Act, or "TrumpCare" passed the House of Representatives by only four votes. The bill, written as is, would eliminate insurance for millions of low-income Americans, but there is one aspect of the bill that no one is talking about - how the AHCA will impact Medicaid's programs for people with disabilities.

President Donald Trump's withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement is a national and international tragedy. History will look back upon this as one of the gravest errors that the U.S. has ever committed. We now join Syria and Nicaragua as the only countries not in the Paris Climate agreement - really great company!

The withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Climate Accord ordered by President Donald Trump has caused his enemies great concern. Their attitude demonstrates their ignorance of the Accord and the climate.